1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to analyzing computer networks, and more particularly to analyzing network communications of applications by capturing and recording their communications that use targeted protocols.
2. Description of the Related Art
As networked computers proliferate, there is a corresponding need to evaluate the network communications of applications operating within the network. To be effective, a network communications analyzing system should be able to test applications, and identify and isolate any problems in running the applications under the various actual network conditions that an application may encounter.
One problem in analyzing network communications is that an operating system with which an application operates may not directly facilitate capturing desired communications. For example, an operating system may not allow direct and coherent access to Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) communications implemented by an application.
Additionally, the perspective of the application is desirable in certain performance evaluations. That is, analyzed information should appear as though it had been directly captured by the application to provide a highly effective monitoring tool. Merely looking at a class of network communications by collecting packets and assembling them after the fact would not be efficient, and would not offer the desired perspective for much of the criteria that one would like to consider in evaluating network performance. Compounding this problem is the desire for transparency in network analysis. That is, monitoring should be transparent to the application, as the application may be monitored after it has been introduced to its intended users, and any disruption of the functionality of the application would be viewed quite negatively.
Thus, there remains a need for network communications monitoring that can effectively access and analyze performance despite some of the obstacles presented by operating systems and applications implementing the network communications, and for monitoring that remains transparent to the application invoking the network communications protocol, while still retaining the perspective of the application.